1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to decorative window panes, and more particularly to prefabricated decorative window assembly of glass or plastic panes sandwiching a single panel simulating a lattice of cames typical of traditional leaded glass panes within a window frame configured for installation in a building wall or door window opening.
2. Prior Art
Windows of latticework or stained glass are common. The window characteristically is handmade of stained window pieces joined into a panel by cames of lead or other soft metal. The time required of skilled labor to fabricate such decorative windows makes them relatively expensive. Such windows generally are also susceptible to breakage and provide poor thermal insulation. Further, repair of a broken glass piece in such a pane requires replacement of the piece by securing a new piece in the pane with new cames or solder. This requires a skilled worker at the site of installation of the window, again a cost concern. There have been attempts to substitute traditional decorative glass with less costly plastic windows but they have found limited commercial success because such windows generally do not look and feel like real glass. Other attempts to replace traditional cames with plastic lattice frames also have met with problems.
For example, Kim, U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,021, attempts to overcome these disadvantages with a tinted-glass window assembly employing an inner frame that simulates a lattice of lead cames into which a plurality of individual glass or plastic pieces are inserted at a factory, making the assembled window less expensive to construct and less expensive to repair. The inner frame is then sandwiched between glass panes to provide the look of an actual tinted glass window. The Kim window was an improvement but still required a comparatively expensive assembly of glass or plastic pieces in the lattice frame between glass panes and resulted in a window that was relatively heavy, still relatively labor intensive in its construction and subject to breakage during manufacture, shipping, and assembly.